Preface

Amidst a world undergoing constant and far-reaching change, it is difficult to know what may be taken as the foundation for our lives and how we should carry on our existence. In every age and in all societies, however, it is the true and real teaching that genuinely guides us; nothing else suffices.

Through such writings as the True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way, Shinran Shonin clarified the teaching of the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. This teaching is not restricted in its relevance, but unfailingly becomes meaningful for any person who reflects deeply on human existence. For at heart is the wish to guide all human beings, transcending differences of nationality, ethnicity, and race, to truly fruitful lives. Amida Buddha calls to us, who are inclined to enclose ourselves within our own husks, to awaken to that which is true and real.

The publication of the Collected Works of Shinran is a joyous occasion. The work of translation is difficult, for the understanding required extends to various underlying differences in culture and practices. This work, carried on through the efforts of many persons, is now published in comprehensive form.

It is my hope that, through The Collected Works of Shinran, even one more person may encounter the Shin Buddhist teaching and gain insight into the life of the nembutsu.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Collected Works of Shinran has been designed to present the entire body of Shinran's doctrinal writings in translations that are consistent in method, lucid, and reliable. English versions have been produced drawing on recent research in Buddhist, historical, and religious studies and on the rich tradition of Shin Buddhist scholarship. Special attention has been given to rendering Shinran's works with a high degree of literal accuracy, in the hope that the translations might thus serve effectively in guiding readers to an understanding of the core of his thought, the religious transformation termed shinjin.

The translations have been closely reviewed by a committee chaired by the General Editor of the Shin Buddhism Translation Series. Professor Yoshifumi Ueda served as General Editor from the start of the Series in 1978 to the year of his death in 1993, at the age of eighty-eight. He contributed formatively and substantially to the policies for translation and to a number of introductions and glossary entries. Professor Gadjin M. Nagao, who has been active in the project since its beginnings, has served as General Editor from 1993 to the present. The review committee, which has met monthly since 1978, at present includes, in addition to the translation staff: Professors Keiwa Ishida, Jitsuen Kakehashi, and Ryusei Takeda. In the past, Professors Ryosetsu Fujiwara, Mitsuyuki Ishida (deceased), Kenryo M. Kumata (deceased), Hakunin Matsuo, Michio Sato, and Shoho Takemura also served on this committee.

Throughout the project from its inception, the original drafts of the translations have been prepared by the Head Translator, Dennis Hirota, and then reviewed in weekly meetings with a committee of translators. This committee, which has also contributed to the introductions and other appended materials, at present includes Professors Hisao Inagaki, Michio Tokunaga, and Ryushin Uryuzu. In the past, Professors Taitetsu Unno and Fumimaro Watanabe (deceased) also served on this committee and contributed in particular to deliberations regarding translations of technical terms.

Invaluable assistance in the process of publication has been provided by Kimiko Hirota (editorial assistance and proofreading), Masako Sugimoto (proofreading and indexing), Yoshiharu Wake (list of terms), and W.S. Yokoyama (copy editing, book design, and cover).